At the end of this month, many San Francisco State University students will see extra money in their bank accounts, $249 in the form of a direct deposit. It's money they paid earlier in the year to cover this semester's tuition fee hike. "We will be doing it going straight back to their bank account as opposed to carrying it over as a credit," Jo Volkert with SFSU said.
Other state university campuses are opting instead to credit students next semester. All of this is possible because once Prop 30 passed Tuesday night, the CSU system was able to roll back all of this year's increases. The tuition will revert back to last year's amount of $5,472.
"It's something. It's a start, but I would appreciate something more. We need more subsidized education for people," student Leor Paley said.
"I'm optimistic. Hopefully we won't have so many classes cut next semester and we'll be able to get everything we need to graduate on time," student Audrey Janner said.
With the money from Prop 30, state universities will not be forced to reduce the number of students expected to enroll. "At least the message now is yes, please do apply because we are open and accepting applications through the end of the month of November," Volkert said.
For the UC system, Prop 30's victory means tuition fees will remain the same, at least for this year. They were facing $375 million in cuts if the measure had not passed. "Because Proposition 30 passed, we now have great hopes for reliable, stable funding for the future," said Steve Montiel with the University of California.
CSU students already receiving financial aid will not get any kind of reimbursement. That money will be returned to the federal government.
